


Of Years

by Avorna



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 09:11:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14329230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avorna/pseuds/Avorna
Summary: After the discussions around Nott's age, Nott decides to ask Caleb how old he is.





	Of Years

**Author's Note:**

> I've actually had this milling around for ages and had not gotten around to publishing it yet. We're drastically lacking enough fluffy Nott/Caleb at the moment and I thought I'd remedy that with a short fic. (I mean, we're drastically lacking enough Nott/Caleb anything at the moment but I digress.)
> 
> If you have any other requests for what kinds of Nott/Caleb stuff you'd like to see, please let me know in the comments.

“How old are you, Caleb?” Nott asks as they’ve finally gotten the chance to rest after a busy day, curled up in their bed away from prying eyes.

“How what?” Caleb rubs his eyes a second, exhausted from both the earlier fight. He looks so fragile and small like this, and Nott smiles to herself as she strokes at his hair.

“We decided that I’m 9 today. How old are you?”

Even with his perfect memory, it takes a moment for Caleb to recall the conversations from earlier that day. “Er, I’m 33.”

“Okay.” Nott settles for a moment and Caleb thinks he’s satiated her as she quietens for a moment, and he lets himself relax into her gentle touch. “But like how old is that actually?”

Caleb sighs. It’s going to be one of those nights where Nott wants to ask him the world; he doesn’t mind that most of the time, and actually welcomes the company after so long spent alone, but he’s tired and his limbs are heavy, and all he can think about is sleep.

“What do you mean how old is that actually? It’s been 33 years since I was born. I have existed for 33 entire years and part of a 34th.”

“No, but,” Nott’s face scrunches up trying to articulate her point. “I’m 9 and that’s a little while past the age when goblins start childbearing. I’m a woman but like a young one. How old is 33 for a human?”

It actually made sense when she said it that way. How best would he convey his age? “Hmm, well it was a bit less than half my life ago when I became a man. I’m still young, I guess. But probably not considered young for much longer.”

“That makes sense.” Nott is joining the dots in her head with her own goblin frame of reference. “You seem much younger." Caleb scoffs at that but she smiles widely as she returns to playing with his hair. "How old do humans usually live?”

The human sighs, “Honestly, it depends. We live into our 80s nowadays with healing being what it is. But some people go much older - some people can live to nearly a century, sometimes longer.”

“A hundred years,” Nott sounds in awe. “What could you even do with 100 years? That’s so much time. You’d have definitely read every book in a hundred years.”

Caleb chuckles softly at her joking, “Nott, my friend, elves live to like 700, I think? Lots of races live longer than humans.”

He looks over at his friend and she’s counting something up on her fingers. It’s sweet. “Elves have always sounded greedy,” she says warily. “Still, 100 is more than anyone would ever need, surely?”

Caleb shrugs, “Depends on how you live it, I guess. Let’s be realistic, eh? With the frequency that I fall unconscious in the shenanigans we keep getting ourselves into, I will definitely not live that long. Honestly, I think mid-eighties is an optimistic age for me. I’m not exactly the pinnacle of health. How long do goblins live, anyway?”

Nott considers it for a moment. “It’s hard to tell too, as we don’t keep track of birthdays or anything. Mid-sixties is a good age, I guess. People have got to like 80 but it’s very rare.”

Caleb yawns, “Well, I guess you have a lot longer to go then.”

He closes his eyes and hears Nott counting rapidly under her breath. Then a pause. “Hey, Caleb.”

Keeping his eyes firmly closed, he replies, “What?”

“With you at your age and me at my age, we’ll probably both live a bit over 50 years.”

“Mmmm.”

“Would you still want to be around me when I’m 60?”

Lazily, Caleb responds, “Depends, do you still want to be around me when I’m in my 80s?”

Nott laughs softly, “Of course I would. Someone's got to stop you from getting hurt. Can I then- Can I stay with you until we’re that old?” As she asks, her voice turns soft and sweet.

“Yeah, course.” Caleb wraps the blankets around the two of them closer and places a chaste kiss on her lips. “If we both live that long, I’m more than happy to still be pulling this shit in 50 years time. Gute Nacht, Nott.”

“Night, Caleb.” Nott smiles as she lets the sleep envelop her. She can stay with Caleb as long as they’re both alive, and she plans on protecting him at any cost. She has a plan. She has a future.


End file.
